The assignee of the present invention is also the assignee of U.S. Pat. 4,662,800 relating to a grain and fertilizer collector machine which has been commercialized for several years by the assignee herein and which represents the underlying technology of which the present invention is a significant improvement. While the machine disclosed and claimed in the '800 patent has been a meaningful advance in the art of handling granular materials in bulk form, it has also been subject to certain shortcomings which have been overcome in the present invention.
For example, the machine of the '800 Patent, after receiving materials internally through a vacuum-generated pickup air stream, mechanically transfers such particles to a single location at the rear of the machine via a full-length unloading auger extending front-to-rear along the bottom of the machine. At that location the materials may be dumped into another, elevating auger not a part of the machine itself, which may be pulled into place by the farmer to then transfer the discharing materials upwardly and outwardly into a trailer or truck moved into position adjacent the machine.
In other words, two separate mechanical augers are utilized pursuant to the concepts of the '800 Patent, i.e., one to consolidate the collected materials at a single point of discharge, and another to then carry the consolidated materials away from the machine and into the ultimate collecting container or receptacle. This concept, although quite satisfactory from a functional standpoint, is relatively inefficient, compared to the present invention, and does not provide an acceptably high operating capacity given the amount of operating horsepower available.